If there's a truly happy verse in the Bible, it's this: "My Beloved is mine, and I am his." It's full of peace, assurance, and overflowing joy. It might have been written by the same hand that penned the twenty-third Psalm. Yet, while the view is beautiful and lovely, not everything is sunny. There's a cloud casting its shadow, saying, "Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away." There's mention of the "mountains of Bether," or "mountains of division," and to love, division is painful.

This might be where you are now. You don’t doubt your salvation; you know Christ is yours, but you aren’t experiencing deep fellowship with Him. You understand He belongs to you without any doubt, yet His left hand isn't under your head, nor is His right hand embracing you. Your heart feels a touch of sadness, maybe due to troubles, certainly from feeling distant from the Lord. Even as you declare, "I am His," you find yourself on your knees praying, "Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, return to me, my Beloved." You wonder, "Where is He?" The answer comes, "He is feeding among the lilies." If we are to find Christ, we need to be in communion with His people, engaging in spiritual practices with fellow believers. Oh, for a glimpse of Him this evening! Oh, to dine with Him tonight!